1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cabinetry hardware. More specifically, it relates to cabinet hinges of the specific type that may be flat-mounted against the cabinet side wall and cabinet door without need to cut depressions therein and that develops a low profile at the side of the cabinet to allow close fitting of slide rails against the cabinet side walls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern designs for office interiors, laboratories, kitchens, and living quarters often call for very sober and flat structure devoid of any protrusions or dust-gathering ridges and ornamentations. Cabinet doors are often mounted in an overlaid configuration with nearly abutting edges. Conventional hinges, handles and latch mechanisms which would disturb the purity and sobriety of the design are no longer in vogue and efforts have been made to limit, conceal and avoid them altogether.
Many cabinets are designed to hold drawers and shelves mounted on slides or runners attached to the insides of the cabinets It is necessary that the cabinet door hinges develop a low silhouette to allow the drawer or shelf to be pulled out on its slides without bumping into the hinge mechanism. Presently, no such hinge is available, i.e. that has a low silhouette in combination with the other desirable traits, and the drawer runners must be shimmied away from the cabinet side wall to allow the drawer to be withdrawn past the bulky hinge mechanism. This narrows the drawer, requires substantial carpentry time to shim the runners, and reduces the amount of contents that can be stored on the narrow shelf.
The prior art has often required the carpenter to cut deep holes or depressions in either the cabinet side wall or the cabinet door or both in which to mount the hinge mechanism to keep it out of interference with the drawer or shelf that is to be pulled from the cabinet after the door is opened. This cutting and drilling require substantial expertise on the part of the carpenter. Cutting or drilling into the door or cabinet side wall also raises the potential for slippage, misalignment or breaking through the door surface and thus raises the potential for doors and cabinet sides to be rendered useless because of improper mounting techniques. In cabinets using glass doors or other materials not easily capable of such drilling, such hinges are not unable at all. In addition, the skill of the carpenter in mounting such complicated devices raises the installation cost and total price to be paid by the user.
In addition, often it is desired that cabinet doors be hinged to open beyond a 90.degree.-angle to allow better access to the contents therein. This is in conjunction with the added desire that, upon the door being opened, no arm, hook, tab, tongue or other part of the hinge mechanism remain projected inward toward the cabinet interior that would pose a hazard to those reaching into the cabinet.
Still further, it is often desired to have a hinge that has the function of applying a positive cabinet door-closing pressure against the cabinet to prevent accidental bumping, vibration, earthquakes or other disturbances from allowing the doors to open and let the contents spill out and fall to the floor. Additionally, it is desired the hinge operate silently so as not to squeak or rattle and disturb persons nearby.
None of these desires are handled by any one hinge on the market today. Accordingly, there remains a significant area of needed improvement in the field of cabinetry, namely for the design of a positive door-closing hinge that may be flat-mounted to the cabinet and door, i.e., without the requirement of cutting or drilling grooves or depression in either the cabinet or the door, and that shows or displays a low profile when the hinge is fully opened to allow withdrawal of the drawer or shelf from inside the cabinet outward without interference with the hinge mechanism.